Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4
There is an old Halloween episode of “Charlie Brown” where Linus misses out on all the Halloween fun because he is sitting outside waiting for the appearance of the Great Pumpkin. Linus portrays the Great Pumpkin as if he is some kind of magical god whose appearance and power will make skipping trick-or-treating somehow worthwhile. He really believes in the Great Pumpkin. ALL of his friends think he is crazy, that there is no Great Pumpkin. Even Marcy, the girl who loves him the most, is unconvinced. She goes along for a little bit, then also becomes negative. Linus is so convinced he misses out on all the Halloween fun. He is so hopeful. Eventually, all his hopes are dashed. There is no Great Pumpkin, just friends who are ridiculing him, and an inward feeling of failure and deception, that what he had hoped for and believed in for so long was just a farce.
Sometimes it feels like we are living Linus’ experience. The world is telling us that there is no God, and all this sacrifice we are making has no payoff. We see others living great lives without God and we see ourselves struggling as we live Godly lives and there might be the temptation to think “What if they are right and we are wrong?” I often wonder if the people who dart in and our of traffic every day, driving like maniacs, are they Christians, do they pray each morning before they drive like that? Because if they are destined for the Kingdom of God, why am I trying so hard? Could I get there with less effort? There are lots of external negative voices.
There are lots of internal ones as well, such as the person who is suffering from serious illness, who no matter how strong their belief in God, is suffering, and eventually losing the battle. How does one stay positive when the internal voices are those of struggle?
There are three things that come to mind that are helpful. One of them is to get around positive voices. That’s why it is so important to not only make friends with people in our church communities, but to be involved in ministries on days other than Sundays. It is important to be around people who are positive about their faith, because on the day we are not so uplifted, their positivity can uplift us. It is also important to have honest conversation with people about faith and struggles with it. Whether that is participating in a Bible study where deep questions can be asked, or speaking privately with a priest, or a counselor, it is important that we have a place where we can deposit our struggles and our thoughts about them.
Being able to dig deeper within ourselves is also important. Each time we think “I can’t do this,” we’ve got to be able to dig deeper and find a place where we tell ourselves “I can do this, I can do all things through God Who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13); even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for Thou art with me, Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4) This kind of self-talk is bolstered when we have access to the powerful and reassuring passages of Scripture that we can play over and over again in our heads. So many times I have thought to myself “I can’t take one more step,” but then am brought back off the ledge through prayer, or reading the Scriptures, or just sitting quietly and meditating on God, and then being able to get back to a place where I think “I can do this, I have the strength for one more step.” The “one more step” concept is also important. We can’t take 100 steps at a time. Thus, when you are feeling that you don’t have strength to continue, focus on taking just one more step, and then just one more. Focus on the next step, not the next hundred steps. Slow life down, with prayer, thought, and focus on what is right in front of you.
It is important to read the lives of the saints. Some saints, like St. Nektarios, who is very revered in the Orthodox world, actually had pretty terrible lives. St. Nektarios was scorned, exiled, and ridiculed or much of his life. Today many miracles have been attributed to him. He is a saint in the church. Those struggles were real, but they were worth it.
The voices of the world may be negative as it pertains to Christianity. Our own internal voices might be negative based on our circumstances. This is why faith is a choice we make continually. It is not a one-time choice. Faith is a yes-no proposition. Either we believe or we don’t. And if we believe, then we “go” on wherever life is taking us, whether it is a good road or a challenging one. When the road is good, we thank God. And when the road is not so good, we ask God for help and we focus on taking one step at a time on that road.
Linus had one concept right. He told all of his friends that the Great Pumpkin was going to come and they were all going to miss out. The problem is that he put his faith in a figment of imagination. Christ has come, is present, and will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. (One Christian greeting, still used among priests is, “Christ is in our midst—He was, He is and He always shall be.” We do not believe in a figment of imagination, but in a living God, who has saved the world, who is present in the world, and Who will return to judge the world. Our faith is not based on the musing of a boy in a 30-minute cartoon episode. It is based on 2,000 years of witnessing the power of Jesus Christ in the world, especially in the lives of those who have struggled, namely our saints.
Be a positive voice for Christianity because there are many people who need to hear a positive voice, including your priests, the people who lead you to Christ, they still need to hear your positive voices. And when the voices are negative, get around people who are positive. When your internal voice is negative, get around others, lean on God and dig deeper within yourself for the extra reserve of faith and strength to take one more step.
Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His steadfast love, that He may deliver their soul from death, and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and shield. Yea, our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His holy name. Let Thy steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in Thee. Psalm 33:18-22
Stay hopeful and keep walking!
